Stranding machine



April 10, 19 6 D. B. CARLETON STRANDING MACIHINE Filed Nov. 24, 1952Inventor 54m .6. mafia/v,

United SW68 Patent 2,141,921 srnnvnmcinn'cnmn bana B. Carleton, Trenton,N.. 3., assigns:- to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation oflew Jersey Applies-nail Novelties: 24, menses-a1 Ne. 322511 6 Claims. I)

This invention relates to improvements in stranding machines. 7 V V M Asused herein, the term stranding machine refers to a machine which twistseither a plurality of component wires together to form a strand or aplurality of component strands together to form a rope or cable. Theterm stranded wire structure refers either to a 'plurality ofcomponentwires twisted together and constituting a strand or a pluralityof component strandstwisted together and constituting a rope or cable.The'present invention is concerned with stranding machines of the typein which the supply reels rotate on stationary axes and the take-up reelis mounted in a frame rotatable longitudinally about the axis of thestranded wire structure.

;An objec t of the invention is to provi de an improved strandingmachine which is of simpler construction and has fewer parts thanprevious machines with which I am familiar. v 7 v A further object is toprovide a strandingmachine of the foregoing type in which the haul-ofimechanism, usually considered necessary, is eliminated altogether.

A further object is to provide a stranding machine which is equippedwith means situated in advance or the closing di'e f'or controlling therateof travel if the coinp onen't wires or strands to furnish thedesired lay.

A further 'object is to prdvide an improved stia'ndihg machine in which'the' take-up reel has the furtheranction of pulling the strandedwir'estructure thro machine and in which the rate of travel of the Wires orstrands is controlled by'a lay 'co ated in advance of the closing are,iii-arra ts easing with theu s ual hjaul-ofi mechanism. V V V 7 In'accomplishing these and other Objectsof the invention, I have'p'rovidedimproved details of *srrucm'e, a preferred form of which is 'shdwu inmenswear-dyin drawingflnwhich: I y 7 Figure l is a top plan view "of animproved s't'ran'ding machine which embodies features of the presentinventidh; V

Figure 2 is a "side elevational View "of'the menus; and Figure 3 is aside "ele'v'ational viewon a rargerseire'br the guide plate andpresetting pins. y

The stranding machine of the present "inventioh'c'oinprises a base IGfonwhich are mounted nsn c es'stea a lay control 'drum 12, a spreader orguide ante- 13,21 losing die 14, a rotary straightener 15, and "atakefp'reel 16. The component wires or -strands were red to 'the machinefrom the left from supply 're'els, riot 'sh'o'w "and at least onecomponent passes over 'tensioniii'g' fri'ehrfs'T showndiag'r'ainmatically in Figure 1. The "ilfachineh'as a drive motor 17 whichis mourifedon a rn'dtb'r'b e 18 "situated beside the base 1'0. Alongitudinall sprocket mechanism'"49. The Side "members 2 for shaft 21are carried in bearing' stands Zlfixedto the base 10 adjacent the left"end thereef. The drum rotates in a clockwise direction and is ofrelativelylargediameter and has one or more-circumferential grooves 23;The drive m'eans illustrated for rotating -the' shaft-21 includes 'aworm gear 24 fixed to this shafit, a worm 25 fixed to :a longitudinallyextending shaft 26, and a :Waterbury drive forr'otating the lastnamed-shaft. The Waterbury" drive includes a motor -27 mounted on thebase 40 and whose output shaft is coupled to shaft '26,'a pump mountedon the motor base 18 and whose input shaft is coupled to the end of thedrive shaft 19, and pipes =29 and 30 which "connect said motor and pump.The Waterbury drive is not described in detail, since-per 'se suchdrives are well known, but reference CQH bE'm QdCffO Francis'Patent No.1,774,880, dated September 2, 1930, for a complete description ofthexprinciplesinvolved;

To the right of the lav-control drum '1-2, thebaselt] earriesuprights-'31 and 32which support the fguideiplate .13 and theclosingdie14. The guide plate- 13 is slidably mounted'on a pair of longitudinalrods 33 which-extend between the uprights -31 and 32. A longitudinalshaft 54 is rotatably mountedin a bearing 'on' the upright-31am has ascrew-threaded portion which is engaged with the --lower=part of theguide plate i3. Preferably shaft 34 right -32 to the ri'gh-t of :guideplate 'andis aligned therewith. closing die is not shewnih detail-,since'er se' it can be of'any'sta1idard -or desiredconstmction. Reference (2nbema'de to rny joint patent with 'Wi'lliam -H."-Simcoe 1N0.2,5565.1'6'4-,d&f8d-l13115 12, 19 51, fora completeshowirig-of severalsuitable forms of c-losihg die.

For driving theclosing die i l and also the straightener -15 andtaiceqlpreel-16) a longitudinallyextending-counter shaft 331's rotatably mountedin bearings -39 carried-by the base it Shaft 38 is *driven from the*di'ive' shafb 19 by a chain'iind sprocket'inechanisn149,and isdrivingly-con- "nectedwith the closing die by another chain and sprocketmechanism "41. v

To the'rightof the closing die 1'4 the base 10 carrie's'a stand 42'onwhich' the" straightener 15 -i'smounted in aligned relation with saiddie. The straightener isnot shown in detail; since perse it is nbt partet the present invention, *but canbe 'of'any standard or desiredeonstrtre titan. Reference can be-rnacle to 'R'oberts Patent No.22,007,335, 'dated July 9, *1935.', for a complete' 'showing Thestraighteneris driven from-the countershaft-38 by-a belt pulleyree-ensm'srh 43. V 1

To the right of the straightener 15 the base roe-arises *dnwkich are"mounted apair of aligned-"bearings 46 and W respectively. Arectangularcra'dle 'or frame is mounted forrotation'on'alongitudinalaxis wearing and; its ax-is 6f rotation "beingcoaxial with that @he "closingulie ld and the st rai ghtener l i "mefraine is driven from the countersha'ft 3S by another ch ain he finine'containaligned bearings 'stl. The take-ap reamin ij'ouinals 51" whichare =removably mounted ih beans s se for rotation on an axisperpendicular to the axis oii'fa t'ion er the tra'tnet gear s2 isrd'tatably"nro'unted-infiaine e8 with'tlre hearingsswand islceyed tonne516f the tanner-e withmwliieli' didnitiidiiiiil 'shdlFSE-l is tn htedtar eateries-relat ve to the name. "The innereneh'f shaft 53 carries abevel gear 54 which is connected wi be used for this purpose.

gear 52 via a gear train 55 such as that illustrated in Figure 1. Inorder to drive the take-up reel, it is only necessafy to producerelative rotation between the shaft 53 and the frame 48, and anyconventional means can I have illustrated a friction mechanism whichincludes a drum 56 on the shaft 53 and a plurality of brake bands 58surrounding said drum. As the frame 48 rotates on its longitudinal axis,the friction mechanism retards rotation of the shaft 53 and thusproduces relative rotation between the shaft and frame. This relativerotation is transmitted to the take-up reel 16 via the bevel gear 54,gear train 55 and gear 52. The rate of rotation of the take-up reel iscontrolled by adjusting the degree of tightness and thus the retardingeffect of the brake bands 58. It is seen that no special drive means arerequired for rotating the take-up reel, but rotation thereof is effectedmerely by retarding the shaft 53.

In advance of the take-up reel 16 the frame 48 carries a level windingmechanism. This mechanism includes a double-threaded shaft 59 rotatablymounted in bearings on the side members of the frame, a drivingconnection 60 between said shaft and one of the journals 51 of the reel,and a traversing device 61 carried by said shaft. As reel 16 revolves,it rotates shaft 59 and moves the traversing device back and forthacross the length of the reel.

In operation, all or some of the component wires or strands W, as theyenter the machine, pass around grooves 23 in the circumference of thelay control drum 12. One or more convolutions of these components can bethus wrapped around the drum, which is of sufiicient diameter'not toinduce any bending set in the components. The drum is driven at adefinite rate in such a manner as to maintain back tension on thecomponents so that they can be properly stranded in the closing die 14.The speed of rotation of the drum determines the length of lay in thefinished stranded wire structure, and the drum maintains a substantiallyuniform position or point of lay. While all of the component wires orstrands may, if desired, bewrapped around the drum, this may not alwaysbe necessary or desirable. It is a requirement A tions may arise.Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth butonly by the scope of the appended claims. e

I claim:

1. A stranding machine comprising a rotatable lay control drum adaptedto have components of a stranded wire structure wrapped therearouud,means following said drum for closing the components into a strandedwire structure, a frame rotatable on the axis of the stranded wirestructure, a take-up reel rotatably mounted in said frame and adapted totension the stranded wire structure and its components for pulling themthrough said closing means without intervening haul-01f mechanism, anddrive means for rotating said drun1,said frame and said reel in a timedrelation, with said drum holding back and ten sioning components whichare wrapped around it.

2. A stranding machine comprising a rotatable lay control drum adaptedto have components of a stranded Wire structure wrapped-therearouud,drive means for rotating said drum, guide means, a closing die and astraightener following said drum and adapted to act successively throughthe machine, and drive means for rotating said of the invention,however, 'that at least one of the components be wrapped around thedrum, For some stranded wire structures which have core members fortensile strength, it may be necessary to Wrap only the core member.Components not wrapped around the drum can pass either to the side orover the top thereof as desired.

The component wires or strands next pass in succession over thepresetting pins 37 on cone 36 and through the guide plate 13, theclosing die 14 and straightener 15, all of which function in the usualmanner. The longitudinal' position of the guide plate 13 is of courseadjusted to obtain the natural point of twist for the particular sizes,grades and number of components being stranded.

After leaving the straightener, the finished stranded wire structurepasses directly to the traversing device 61 and thence to the take-upreel 16, there being no intervening haul-off mechanism. Rotation of thetake-up reel supplies the necessary tension for pulling the structurethrough the machine, and to make this possible, the

reel and its drive may be made somewhat heavier than usual. The drum 12,rather than the usual haul-off -mechanism, controls the lay, as alreadyexplained. Thus the drum enables the haul-off mechanism to beeliminated.

In the event one or more component wires or strands breaks in thestranding operation, the machine readily can be reversed and the strandretracted to repair the broken components. The presence of haul-offmechanism has always complicated such reversals.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of theinvention, it is apparent that modificareel, the two drive meansoperating in a timed relation so that said drum holds back and tensionscomponents which are wrapped around it.

' 3. A stranding machine comprising a rotatable lay control drum adaptedto have components of a stranded wire structure wrapped therearouud,drive means for rotating said drum, guide means, a closing die and astraightener following said drum and adapted to act successively on thecomponents after they leave said drum for forming them into astraightened stranded wire, structure, a frame rotatable on the axis ofthe stranded wire structure directly following said straightener, atake-up reel and a level winding mechanism mounted in said frame andadapted to receive the stranded wire structure directly from thestraightener without intervening haul-off mech anism, said take-up reelbeing adapted to tension the stranded wire structure audits componentsfor pulling them through the machine, and drive means for rotating saidframe and said reel, the two drive means operating in a timed relationso that said drum holds back and tensions components which are wrappedaround it.

4. A stranding machine comprising a rotatable lay control drum having acircumferential groove adapted to receive components of a stranded wirestructure wrapped therearouud, drive means for rotating said drum at apredetermined rate, guide means, a closing die and a straightenerfollowing said drum and adapted to act successively on the componentsafter they leave said drum for forming them into a straightened strandedwire structure,'a frame mounted for rotation on the axis of the strandedwire structure directly following said straightener, a take-up reel anda level winding mechanism 'mouuted' in said frame and adapted to receivethe stranded wire structure directly from the straightener withoutintervening haul off mechanism, drive means for rotating said frame, andadjustable means for rotating said reel as said framerotates, rotationof said reel being adapted to tension the stranded wire structure andits components for pulling them through the machine, the two drive meansoperating in a timed relation so that said drum holds back and tensionscomponents which are wrapped around it.

5. A stranding machine comprising a rotatable lay control drum adaptedto have components of a stranded wire structure wrapped therearouud,drive means for rotating said drum at a predetermined rate, meansfollowing said drum for closing the components into a stranded wirestructure,,a frame rotatable on the axis of the stranded wire structure,a take-up reel rotatably mounted in said frame, means for rotating saidframe, a shaft coaxial with the axis of rotation of said frame androtatable relative to said frame, gearing connecting said shaft and saidreel for rotating the reel on relative rotation between the shaft andframe, drive means for rotating said frame, and friction means forretarding rotation of said shaft and thus rotating said reel, rotationof said reel being adapted to tension the stranded wire structure andits components for pulling them through said closing means Withoutintervening haul-off mechanism, the two drive means operating in a timedrelation so that said drum holds back and tensions components which arewrapped around it.

6. A stranding machine comprising a rotatable lay control drum adaptedto have components of a stranded wire structure wrapped therearound,drive means for rotating said drum at a predetermined rate and therebycontrolling the rate of advance of the components, means for closing thecomponents into a stranded wire structure, a frame rotatable on the axisof the stranded wire structure, a reel mounted for rotation in saidframe and adapted to act both as a take-up reel for the stranded wirestructure and as a means for tensioning the stranded wire structure andits components for pulling them through said closing means, and drivemeans for rotating said frame and said reel, the two drive meansoperating in a timed relation so that said drum holds back and tensionscomponents which are wrapped around it.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS409,248 Sieg et a1. Aug. 20, 1889 2,506,230 MacCreadie May 2, 1950FOREIGN PATENTS 12,630 Great Britain May 22, 1914 16,967 Great BritainOct. 24, 1890 101,938 Great Britain Nov. 2, 1916

